It also recommends that the state move away from letting local school boards control what happens in different school districts.

The report favors removing a cap on charter schools.

Right now, the number of charter schools that can exist in Maine is capped at 10.

Gov. Paul LePage issued a response to the report: "The StudentsFirst report card is a critical and thoughtful effort towards improving education in the State of Maine. The issues examined -- elevating the profession of teaching, empowering parents, increasing transparency and spending scarce resources wisely and in the best interest of students -- are exactly the type of subjects we should be measuring and improving. The overall grade of D is disappointing, but not surprising. This is another call for education reform in Maine that warrants careful consideration. Until we put students first, we will continue to drown in status quo."

The report is reigniting the debate over charter schools in Maine.

State Education Commissioner Stephen Bowen said it's about choice.

Bowen said, "I don't see this as condemning our public schools. It's about having options."

Some educators, parents, and even students are already getting excited about new choice they'll be offered when Portland's Baxter Academy Charter School opens in September.

"I can promise you a lot of kids my age are not comfortable, and I feel that at Baxter Academy you will have that -- that nice, rounded comfortable place to be," Gorham resident Brianna Kelihor said.

Bowen concedes that StudentsFirst has an agenda.

Bowen said, "Obviously, this organization thinks that if you do these certain things, that will result in student outcomes. Lots of other organizations say other things and so you have to take all of these with a grain of salt but we welcome all kinds of feedback."

Charter school opponents are more heavy-handed in their criticism of today's report.

Senate President Justin Alfond said, "Their agenda is front and center: They want to take our public school system and radically change it."

Alfond said there are already plenty of choices for Maine students and parents without adding more charter schools.

Alfond said, "You can't have a great public school system if you're whacking it every other day and I think that's what's occurred and is trying to occur here in the state of Maine."

Lois Kilby-Chesley, president of the Maine Education Association teacher's union, told News 8, "The report does not adequately represent the true success of our schools in Maine. You must first consider who released the document. StudentsFirst portrays itself as non-partisan but indeed aligns with the Tea Party."

StudentsFirst doesn't appear to have factored test scores into its report card, but its website lists the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress rankings, which show that Maine students score above average.

The NAEP, which is part of the U.S. Department of Education, ranked Maine's fourth-graders fourth in math and 22nd in reading and ranked Maine's eighth-graders 13th in math and tenth in reading.